A Christmas Epiphany
by Indiana Smith
Summary: (Pre IM1) Pepper gets an unexpected visitor on Christmas. Fluffy Pepperony one-shot inspired by my favorite scene in the movie Love Actually.


**Inspired by my favorite scene in Love Actually. Let me make it clear that I do not own Love Actually, or Iron Man. As you can see I cannot even come up with an original situation to put characters in. Lack of originality aside, I hope you find it enjoyable.  
**

This was Pepper's seventh Christmas under Tony Stark's employ. Seven long years of putting out fires (literally) and taking out the trash (not literally). It was a long road and there were plenty of times when she didn't think she would make it, but she always found a reason to go back. It would have been easier for her to just hate him, which she did for a long time, but now she couldn't deny that she had grown fond of her boss these last few years.

That does not mean there were no longer times when she hated him. There were still plenty of those. And to be fair there were plenty of times when he seemed to hate her as well. Their love/hate relationship has become undefinable to her. Were they friends? He was the closest thing she had to family since her parents died two years ago, not that he knew that. He barely knew anything about her. In seven years not once did he ask her what she did on Christmas, or where she went. He's too self-obsessed to think about his lowly personal assistant on Christmas. Sometimes she thought that's all she was to him. As insignificant as one of the hundreds of women she escorted out of his bedroom. It kept her awake some nights, thinking that the most important person in her life saw her as little more than a stranger. Just an authority figure who bossed him around and told him what to do all day. Honestly, sometimes it feels like he hired her to be his mother.

She had given up trying to explain exactly what it was that kept her from leaving. The best she could come up with was she had a need to be needed. She was convinced Tony couldn't tie his shoes without her, and as pathetic as it sounded, she wanted to help him.

_Tony_...when did he go from Mr. Stark, to '_Tony'_? She guessed it must have been around the same time she started thinking of herself as Pepper.

So here she was, off the clock; a glass of wine in one hand and a book she has been dying to read in the other, and all she could think about was her crazy boss. God, she really was pathetic.

Clearing her mind of all things regarding work, she took a sip of her wine and began to read.

She spent a lovely evening curled up on her couch completely enthralled by the book until there was a knock on her door at precisely 10:26 at night. Actually, a knock is not the right word to use to describe the noise she heard. It was more like a thump, or a series of thumps as if someone outside her apartment had tried unsuccessfully to keep themselves from falling over.

Reaching for her robe she quickly tied it closed around her and made her way to the door. Looking through the peep hole she didn't see anyone, but she could hear muffled sounds against her door. Fear gripped her, but when she spoke she spoke clearly, her voice unwavering.

"Hello? Who's there?" She asked still looking through the peep hole.

"Does P-pepper Potts live h-here?" She heard the muffled reply through her door. There was only one person it could be, but still it took her a moment to comprehend that her boss was at her home on Christmas, and most likely drunk out of his mind.

"Mr. Stark?" She opened the door and found herself looking down into the face of one, Tony Stark.

He was sitting up against her door before she opened it so he was currently lying on the floor, his torso in her living room and his legs still in the hallway. From the smell coming off of him she knew her guess was correct and that he was indeed drunk. He also had the hiccups.

When she last saw him at the mansion he was getting ready to make an appearance at all of the many Christmas parties he had been invited to, just like he did every year on Christmas. She tied his tie for him and he gave her the rest of the day off, as usual. So what changed? What on earth was he doing here of all places? And where were the rest of his clothes?

He no longer was wearing his jacket and his tie was no where to be seen. Someone was trying to get him out of his clothes quickly, she suspected. His top button was also missing.

"What are you doing here Mr. Stark?" She asked trying to get him on his feet so she could close the door.

Tony just grinned up at her, his eyes unfocused and his cheeks flushed from the alcohol. "Mer-ry Christmas to you t-too, Potts."

Pepper rolled her eyes and helped him to his feet. He leaned heavily on her, and she barely managed to drag him to her couch. He was taking in his surroundings very closely. This was the first time he had ever been to Pepper's house.

"Nice place. I-it's a b-bit small though." He told her, interrupted a few times by his hiccups. She immediately went into the kitchen to get him a glass of water; her first instinct always was to take care of him...

She needed a vacation.

He gulped the water down without so much as a thank you.

She took a seat across from him and closed her robe tighter around herself. "It's no mansion, but it's cozy enough."

"Remind me to give you a raise." He said, wiping water off of his chin.

When he didn't say anything else and just continued to look around her apartment, she decided it was time to get to the point.

"Why are you here? I thought you had lots of unspeakable plans for tonight?" She asked not unkindly. It wasn't as if she wanted to kick him out or anything, this was just very unusual behavior for him, and _that_ is saying something.

"I do. I did. I just had to tell you something right away." He said very seriously.

She could tell he was nervous, which was making her nervous because Tony was always the epitome of confidence. He was fidgeting in his seat. His hands were twitching like they were unsure of what to do with themselves.

All of a sudden he stood up. Much too quickly because he fell right back into his seat a second later. It would have been funny if she wasn't so worried about his mental health.

On the second try he was able to get to his feet on his own and began pacing, and muttering to himself. She couldn't make out any of what he was saying.

"Mr. Stark, I think you should lay down until you-"

"I had an epiphany."

She blinked. "You what?"

"I said, I had an epiphany. Today, at the Christmas party." He wobbled a little, but stood his ground in front of the loveseat she was occupying.

"Oh. And can I ask what this epiphany was about?" She was slightly afraid of what his answer might be.

"It was about Christmas."

That wasn't too bad. "Do you want to throw your own party next year? Is that it?" She asked, mentally checking off all of the people she would need to get in touch with before then.

He looked even more confused. "What? No. I just realized that Christmas is the time for being with the people you care about."

"Right…" Now she was confused. What was he talking about?

"And I realized that I don't care about a lot of people." He laughed a little manically, shaking his head. "That came out wrong. What I mean is…Well, what I'm trying to say is…"

He looked lost, with his eyes wide and his hands constantly running through his hair. She wondered, not for the first time, what kind of trouble he could have gotten into at that party. She was mentally writing out apology letters to whom it may concern.

Oblivious to her thought process, he took a deep breath and continued. "Here I am, mid thirties, and the longest relationship I've ever had is with my personal assistant." He looked at her, and laughed again. "I mean think about it. We've been together for seven years, we are practically married!"

Pepper snorted with laughter at the thought. She didn't think the word 'married' was part of his vocabulary. She wondered how many drinks he would have needed to get this drunk.

Her reaction didn't seem to please him because he frowned and got all serious again, concentrating on finding the right words to express himself.

"I'm serious. I left the Christmas party, where the most beautiful women in Malibu were in the process of undressing me, in order to come see you at Christmas! All because, as crazy as it sounds, I think it might be that I care about...you...the most."

That was unexpected. He cared about her? The most? Shock did not come close to describing what she felt. If hell was ever going to freeze over, it would have done so right then.

She never thought she would live to see the day when Tony Stark admitted he cared about someone else. Of course she assumed that he cared about her, but for him to say it out loud, drunk or not…it was rather touching.

She quickly wiped her watering eyes on the sleeve of her robe.

"That must have been some party if you're this drunk this early." She joked, trying not to become overwhelmed by her boss's drunken ramblings.

Tony smiled and squeezed in next to her on the loveseat. "Seven years ago I never would have believed it but you turned out to be the love of my life, Pep."

Her eyes locked onto his, and she saw he was being sincere, despite the slurring.

"Thank you." Was all she could think to tell him. "I'm very flattered." She said only half joking and gave him a hug. Her head on his shoulder and his buried in her hair.

"Don't. I should thank you for staying with me so long." He muttered in her ear. The honesty in his voice brought fresh tears to her eyes. She just held him tighter. Who would have thought, after seven years he could still surprise her?

This was by far the most bizarre Christmas she ever had in her life. It was also one of the best because even though she knew Tony was hardly coherent, everything he said was true. Despite all of the parties and the women he indulged in, he lived a relatively lonely life...

...just like she did.

"Love you too." She whispered in his ear. He muttered something that sounded like 'Too much.' but she didn't ask him to repeat it.

They sat there holding each other for a long time until she realized he was softly snoring.

The most emotional moment, probably in his entire life, and he falls asleep. Typical.

She knew he would wake up with a hangover, and probably very little recollection of what he told her tonight, but she would never forget the glimpse of his heart he showed to her. It was the best Christmas gift he could have given her.

Reaching behind her she grabbed the blanket she kept on the loveseat and covered them both as best she could without disturbing him. She needn't have worried because Tony was out cold, drooling slightly onto her shoulder.

She sighed. Oh well, she'd yell at him tomorrow.

"Merry Christmas, Tony." Pepper whispered, and kissed the top of his head.

It wasn't long before she joined him in sleep.


End file.
